Why are corporations doing so well as the economy struggles?

[Direckshun]

This is something I'd like to see your explanations on.

Corporations are recording record profits in 2012. Not good profits, record profits.

And yet our economy struggles at a little under 3% growth and a high unemployment rate.

Why, in your opinion, is the economy so bad yet businesses are doing so great?

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/20...orate-profits/

Record Corporate Profits
United States corporate profits reached a record high in the third quarter of this year, even adjusted for inflation, according to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
November 29, 2012, 3:00 pm



The increase from the second quarter was entirely a result of stronger business at home. Profits received from American-owned businesses abroad fell slightly in the third quarter, which may not be surprising given the recession in Europe and the slowdown in China.

Additionally, all of the growth in domestic corporate profits was accounted for by the financial sector.

Domestic profits of financial corporations rose $71.3 billion in the third quarter, after falling $39.7 billion in the second. Domestic profits of nonfinancial corporations, on the other hand, decreased $1 billion in the third quarter, after rising $27.8 billion in the second quarter.

[JonesCrusher]

Because left or right, they are all bought and paid for in Washington. This pissing contest we the people have is just that.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Capitalism baby! It's capitalism. Make the most money you can. Don't complain. One of these days, it could be you! There is no better opportunity on earth to live a wonderful lifestyle than here in the United Corporations of America. U-C-A! U-C-A U-C-A!

If you don't love it, leave it!

[whoman69]

Greed.

The companies are profitable because they have wrung every ounce of money they can from outsourcing or paying lower wages to their non executive employees while paying immense amounts of money to those executives who have made the company so profitable. They could certainly hire if executive pay was inline with what it was 30 years ago. Minimum wage under that scenario would be $11/hr. How many aren't even making what the equivalent was for minimum wage?

This is also why the economy cannot grow. Companies need to realize the people they outsourced can no longer afford their products and certainly the ill paid people they hired can't either.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by blaise

There's that great American envy we all strive for! Attaboy!

No, I'm not envious. I've never wanted to be super rich. That's an awfully simplistic and assumptive way to look at it. Stop trying to argue and make an effort to understand.

This practice of mega corporations rewarding CEOs and driving income inequality to absurd limits, while cutting jobs and forcing the workforce to work for peanuts with no benefits, is killing America. Corporations have a stranglehold on the economy. They have roots so deep into the government, that they're affecting law for themselves. That's why we have these record profits in the midst of record unemployment. They're running the game.

You're defending organizations that don't give a shit about you or anything else except the few men at the top. You're encouraging greed in the face of massive unemployment. For what? Do you really think this kind of thing makes America better? Tell me how this form of capitalism puts the American dream in reach for those who want it...

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Corporations are killing the American dream. Swoop in, put small business out of work because they can't compete with volume pricing discounts, then put those people to work for peanuts. Capitalism baby! You could be that guy one of these days! Don't complain!

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

Corporations are killing the American dream. Swoop in, put small business out of work because they can't compete with volume pricing discounts, then put those people to work for peanuts. Capitalism baby! You could be that guy one of these days! Don't complain!

That's a pretty wide sweeping generalization there.

[Dallas Chief]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

Pay your employees salaries! Magically.....the mythical 40 hour week becomes a 60 hour week. Shazaam!

Pretty much my whole adult life I have benefited from the extra hours I put in though.

Oh and yeah... you can't just make a position salaried just because you want to. There are certain criteria that need to be met in order to do so. You just can't make a cashier a salaried employee so you can make them work more hours. Nice try though...

[RaiderH8r]

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

Pay your employees salaries! Magically.....the mythical 40 hour week becomes a 60 hour week. Shazaam!

To be fair, if we're talking about unionized labor the 40 hour work week truly is mythical. They avoid it like Super AIDS or the 40 hr work week. I like the union 8 myself, in at 10 out at 2 and a 90 minute lunch.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by RaiderH8r

Looks like they've cut some dead weight and made operations more efficient. However, the consumer base hasn't rebounded to the point to justify expansion. Or they're sitting on cash for the tax bill. Or they're sitting on cash to hire lawyers to comply with the thousands of regulations coming down the pike. Or, or, or, or, or...Or is the very essence of uncertainty so until you fix "or" forget pumping cash into the system. I know for a fact that a lot of small business owners, those filing as S corps, are looking at the tax hike on individual tax rates on and that tax hike strikes right at the heart of whether they choose to hire or choose to pay the tax bill Obama is proposing. So they're sitting on assets or putting assets elsewhere until this thing plays out.

Or you could just keep building strawmen.

[scott free]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

No, I'm not envious. I've never wanted to be super rich. That's an awfully simplistic and assumptive way to look at it. Stop trying to argue and make an effort to understand.

This practice of mega corporations rewarding CEOs and driving income inequality to absurd limits, while cutting jobs and forcing the workforce to work for peanuts with no benefits, is killing America. Corporations have a stranglehold on the economy. They have roots so deep into the government, that they're affecting law for themselves. That's why we have these record profits in the midst of record unemployment. They're running the game.

You're defending organizations that don't give a shit about you or anything else except the few men at the top. You're encouraging greed in the face of massive unemployment. For what? Do you really think this kind of thing makes America better? Tell me how this form of capitalism puts the American dream in reach for those who want it...

Why bother arguing, no amount of common sense is going to work with some people.

Just let the big corporations do whatever they want, because eventually they're going to reinvest in the nation... a nation like China, or India, or Bangladesh, or Taiwan, or...

[CoMoChief]

Because they can afford the hyper inflation, in fact it doesn't effect them at all because they pass it all down to the consumer. Not to mention they co-write the legislation, tax laws and monetary policy that benefit large corporations and the very top of the wealth pyramid.

[Dallas Chief]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Because they can afford the hyper inflation, in fact it doesn't effect them at all because they pass it all down to the consumer. Not to mention they co-write the legislation, tax laws and monetary policy that benefit large corporations and the very top of the wealth pyramid.

Shhhhh... nobody wants to hear that.

[CoMoChief]

The large Wall St. banking firms are in bed in so many important positions in DC. They've been DEEPLY rooted in our CIA. That's on record. These guys are in bed with our Treasury, Federal Reserve, the Executive Branch. These crooks like Jon Corzine can get up in front on US Congress and tell them all to **** you he's going to do whatever the hell he wants to, and he doesn't get into any kind of trouble at all.

[scott free]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Because they can afford the hyper inflation, in fact it doesn't effect them at all because they pass it all down to the consumer. Not to mention they co-write the legislation, tax laws and monetary policy that benefit large corporations and the very top of the wealth pyramid.

None of that makes it right for America.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by ROYC75

Well, isn't this such a shallow post. There are other reasons to go with it but let's not get into the semantics of what and why, there are so many.

If you explain the reasons for what and why that is not semantics.

You know words mean things.